*Leo Varadkar. Photograph: Brian Arthur
LEO VARADKAR’s (FG) decision to step down as Taoiseach and leader of Fine Gael will not result in an early General Election according to two of Clare’s Oireachtas members.
Varadkar made the shock announcement on Wednesday afternoon that he was to resign from the roles effectively immediately. He has been the leader of Fine Gael since June 2017 and in his two terms as Taoiseach has presided over the country’s immediate response to COVID-19 and its approach to managing Brexit. He also became the first openly gay Taoiseach in the country’s history.
Fine Gael will elect a new leader prior to the party’s Ard Fhéis on April 6th with one of Simon Harris (FG), Simon Coveney (FG), Paschal Donohoe (FG), Helen McEntee (FG) and Heather Humphreys (FG) likely to take up the mantle.
This resignation will not prompt an early General Election according to Clare TD, Cathal Crowe (FF). “I think the public don’t desire a General Election at this moment and for that reason we’ll allow Fine Gael to play out their internal process to select their party leader and most likely ratify a new Taoiseach before the Dáil. Recently I gave an interview to The Clare Echo on when the next election would be and my views haven’t changed, I don’t believe this has shortened the lifespan of this Government but I imagine between Halloween and Christmas we will have an election, the public won’t thank us if we have an election on Christmas week”.
Similarly Senator Martin Conway (FG) did not expect to be out canvassing for himself in the coming weeks. “This could delay a General Election if anything, we’ll have a new leader going into the local and European elections which I think will create a new energy in Fine Gael. There’s a certain honeymoon and energy after a new leader is elected and I think we will see a General Election between November and March but there is a lot of water to go under the bridge before then”.
Speaking on Wednesday, the Taoiseach said his two decades as a public representative has “been the most fulfilling time of my life”. He stated, “I have had the honour of helping to lead Ireland from unemployment to full employment, from budget deficit to budget surplus, from austerity to prosperity, through a pandemic in which we saved lives and livelihoods, and through Brexit when we prevented a hard border between North and South and protected our place in Europe. I am proud that we have made the country a more equal and more modern place when it comes to the rights of children, the LGBT community, equality for women and their bodily autonomy. More recently, we have led the country through an inflation and cost of living crisis, the worst of which is now thankfully behind us”.
He added, “When I became Party Leader and Taoiseach back in June 2017, I knew that one part of leadership is knowing when the time has come to pass on the baton to someone else. And then having the courage to do it. That time is now. So, I am resigning as President and Leader of Fine Gael effective today, and will resign as Taoiseach as soon as my successor is able to take up that office”.
On his decision, he commented, “I know this will come as a surprise to many and a disappointment to some. I hope you will at least understand my decision. I know that others will, how shall I put it, cope with the news just fine. That is the great thing about living in a democracy. There is never a ‘right time’ to resign high office. However, this is as good a time as any – Budget 2024 is done, and negotiations have not yet commenced on the next one. The institutions of the Good Friday Agreement are working again, and our trading relationship with the United Kingdom, in the post-Brexit era, is settled and stable. The new Taoiseach will have a full two months to prepare for the Local and European Elections, and up to a year before the next General Election”.
Fine Gael will be better served by a new leader, he maintained. “After careful consideration and some soul-searching, I believe a new Taoiseach will be better-placed than me to achieve that – to renew and strengthen the top team, to refocus our message and policies, and to drive implementation. After seven years in office, I am no longer the best person for that job. There are loyal colleagues and good friends contesting the Local & European Elections and I want to give them the best chance possible. I think they will now have a better chance under a new Leader”.
Varadkar will continue to fulfil his duties as Taoiseach until a successor is appointed and will remain as a constituency TD for Dublin West. “I know, inevitably, there will be speculation as to the ‘real reason’ for my decision. These are the real reasons. That’s it. I have nothing else lined up or in mind. No definite personal or political plans, but I am looking forward to having the time to think about them”.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Senator Conway admitted, “My initial reaction is surprise, I don’t think anyone saw it coming, when you think it through it’s a very brave thing to do to think your time is up and have given contribution to let someone else take up mantle and give them a chance. Politics is a very demanding profession, it involves a whole of body and a whole of mind approach, at the very senior level which Leo has been at for 13 years there comes a point when you have to say I’ve given my best and give someone else an opportunity, I admire him and pay tribute to his friendship and support of me”.
Senator Conway recalled, “He went into Government when country was bankrupt, there was the Brexit challenge when he was Tasoieach and he handled it very well, we were blessed to have him as Taoiseach during the worldwide pandemic given that he is a qualified health professional, his St Patrick’s Day address in Washington will go down as critical in setting the tone”.
History will reflect kindly on his party leader, the Ennistymon man asserted while praising the “deep interest” he had in Clare as evident in his decisions to holiday in the county and support for Shannon Airport which became independent during his time as Minister for Transport. One of Varadkar’s first visits to Clare after becoming Taoiseach was to open the constituency office of Conway in Ennistymon in 2018.
Deputy Crowe said the resignation took him “by total surprise and shock”. He stated, “I know Leo since our teenage years, we were both elected to local authorities on the same day in 2004 but in 2002 the two of us and Lucinda Creighton represented Ireland at a European Youth event in Brussels. I was equally surprised to see him rise so quickly through the political ranks as I am to see him leave politics”.
To have three leaders of the Government in the one term is “very unusual and has never happened in the history of the State,” he acknowledged. He said the decision of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to enter into the coalition ended civil war politics in 2020.
Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) who was one of the few Clare representatives to back Varadkar over Coveney in the 2017 leadership contest recalled that he was very impressed with the Dublin man when he first met him. “I believe he has served his country really well, he brought us through a lot of difficult situations, with his Government colleagues he has steered our country through serious crises”.
Former Senator, Tony Mulcahy (FG) pointed to the manner in which Varadkar assisted with the development of the Shannon Free Zone. The local election candidate was adamant its current success would not be possible without him and commended his role in helping Shannon Airport to gain its independence.
